After a trestle bridge collapsed and dropped six tanker cars full of corn syrup into the river around 4:30 p.m. Monday, the challenge now, according to officials, is removing the cars without spilling thousands of gallons of the substance — 102,000 of them.

Representatives from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency were at the site Tuesday to determine if the cars, which each hold about 17,000 gallons, were leaking and if the regional wildlife had been affected.

Ralph Foster, senior emergency responder for the IEPA's emergency operations unit, said it appeared three of the six cars had leaks. A leak in one car was plugged, but the other two had small drips.

While corn syrup is not like the hazardous diesel and petroleum the IEPA often faces, Foster said the material can degrade and strip oxygen from the water, possibly killing fish and aquatic insects.

"Most people wouldn't consider it a hazardous material," Foster said, noting many have it in their homes.

Foster said the IDNR would begin taking water samples and measurements to determine the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water, but he added he didn't know at the time what a safe oxygen level would be for the river.

In terms of the wildlife, Rob Hilsabeck, a fish biologist for the IDNR, said the aquatic insects and fish didn't appear to be in distress Tuesday. The agency will continue to monitor the region, including areas downstream from the collapse.

But now, train owner Keokuk Junction Railway must hire a derailment company that can remove the cars without dumping their cargo, officials said. Both Foster and Hilsabeck noted a bigger spill could mean more problems.

"It's amazing they didn't leak more than they did," Hilsabeck said.

The three-engine, 16-car train was headed east toward East Peoria when the bridge buckled. The three engines and six cars made it safely across the bridge, while the six middle cars plunged into the river. Four additional cars remained on the west side of the bridge.

No injuries were reported, according to the Fulton County Sheriff's Department, but residents are advised to avoid the area.

The cause of the collapse is still unknown. However, Shane Cullen, vice president of transportation and operations for subsidiaries of parent company Pioneer Railcorp, told WMBD-TV Monday that the bridge is more than 100 years old. He added the bridge had been inspected in the last few months.

It is also possible the major flooding the Spoon River experienced this spring could've affected the wood-and-metal bridge.

Messages left with Michael Carr, Pioneer Railcorp CEO and president, were not returned Tuesday.

Keokuk Junction officials, as well as the sheriff's department, the Smithfield-Marietta Fire Department, Cass-Putman Rescue Squad, Fulton County Emergency Management Association and Fulton County ESDA responded to the collapse.

Page 2 of 2 - Keokuk Junction Railway, which operates on 114 miles of track between Keokuk, Iowa, and Peoria, among other areas, mainly carries corn, corn germ, corn syrup, meal, gluten feed and railroad wheels, according to the company's website.